Bank of America’s first quarter results took note of continued use of digital channels in banking — and for payments, too.The bank recorded 3.4 billion digital logins; digital sales represented 50% of total sales, the company noted in its earnings supplementals.Digital households tallied by the banking firm came in at 748,000 in the quarter, at 86% of the installed base, up from 717,000 and 84% a year ago.Zelle numbers showed increased use of P2P payments, as volumes gained about 26% year on year to $106 bi ...

Microsoft has invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm G42.The investment is the latest in a series of collaborations for the company and marks the latest example of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) growing importance in the AI space.“Building on the two organizations’ long-standing collaboration in AI and digital transformation initiatives, Microsoft’s investment deepens the reciprocal commitment to this strategic partnership,” the companies said in a Tuesday (April 16) new ...

Google’s top AI executive says the company’s spending on the technology will surpass $100 billion.While speaking Monday (April 15) at a TED Conference in Vancouver, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis was asked about recent reports of Microsoft and OpenAI’s planned artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer known as “Stargate,” said to cost $100 billion.“We don’t talk about our specific numbers, but I think we’re investing more than that over time,” said Hassabis, whose comments were reported by Bloomberg News. Has ...

Online legal platform Lawhive has secured 9.5 million pounds ($11.8 million) in funding from GV (Google Ventures) and Episode 1 Ventures.The company will use the new funding to further its mission of providing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform designed to help lawyers save time and earn more, Lawhive said in a Monday (April 15) post on LinkedIn.The company is also hiring across engineering, AI, product and operations, Pierre Proner, co-founder and CEO at Lawhive, said in a post on LinkedIn.“A ...

India’s Jio Financial Services has launched a joint venture with BlackRock.The collaboration will establish a wealth management and brokering business in India, and comes less than a year after the two companies began an asset management venture, Reuters reported Monday (April 15).Jio, part of the Reliance Group, said the venture is designed to tap into the lucrative wealth business in India, and will include the incorporation of a wealth management firm and, eventually, a brokerage company.The Reuters repo ...

Goldman Sachs posted earnings on Monday (April 15) that illuminated a continued focus on Wall Street activities, while the firm continues to exit consumer-related banking activities.During the conference call with analysts, CEO David Solomon said that capital markets related activity has been robust as “CEOs need to make strategic decisions for their firms, companies of all sizes need to raise capital and financial sponsors need to transact to generate returns for their investors.”The reopening of the capit ...

Apple’s reign as the world’s top smartphone maker was short-lived.The iPhone maker supplanted Samsung late last year as the number-one seller of the devices, though Samsung regained the crown during this year’s first quarter, according to a report Sunday (April 14) by IDC.That report shows Apple’s iPhone shipments declining and points to a broader recovery in the smartphone market — with shipments up 7.8% year over year to 289.4 million units in the first quarter — although IDC said some turbulence is to st ...

Google is pulling links to California news sites ahead of pending news-focused legislation.That bill, dubbed the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), would require Google to pay for providing news content.Jaffer Zaidi, Google’s vice president of global news partnerships, said in a Friday (April 12) blog entry that the tech giant would conduct “a short-term test for a small percentage of California users” to study how the proposed legislation would impact the company’s products. “Until there’s clar ...

Salesforce is reportedly in advanced negotiations to purchase data-management software provider Informatica.The talks were the subject of a Friday (April 12) Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, citing sources familiar with the matter.The report said Informatica has a market capitalization of more than $11 billion after a 43% jump in its shares this year as traders invested in a deal. However, WSJ said, sources say the price being discussed was below Informatica’s Friday closing stock price.Salesforce provides ...

Core Insights - Tencent has simplified the process for international visitors to register for WeChat accounts and link international cards to Weixin Pay, enhancing mobile payment accessibility in mainland China [1][2] Group 1: Weixin Pay Enhancements - International users can now register for WeChat using an overseas mobile number and link eligible international cards to Weixin Pay, allowing access to millions of merchants in mainland China [1] - The card linking process enables international visitors to spend a certain amount safely and conveniently [1] - Users seeking higher transaction limits can complete an identity verification process, increasing the single transaction limit from $1,000 to $5,000 and the annual limit from $10,000 to $50,000 [2] Group 2: Cross-Border Payment Initiatives - International visitors can also link UnionPay's Tour Card, a prepaid card, through Weixin Pay [2] - Malaysian visitors can utilize their local eWallet in the PayNet system to make payments in mainland China by scanning Weixin Pay QR codes [2] - Tencent's Tenpay Global will collaborate with NetsUnion to connect more wallets, further enhancing cross-border payment capabilities [2] Group 3: Inbound Tourism and Mobile Payments - Inbound tourism to China is increasing, leading to a rise in mobile payment usage by visitors [3] - Tencent previously announced that WeChat users can link cards from Visa, Mastercard, JCB, or Discover to facilitate payments at millions of merchants in China [3] - The company aims to improve the mobile payment experience for overseas users by supporting international cards and connecting local wallets with mainland China [3]